NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to direct urgent listing of a plea seeking a stay on the release of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ — based on the Kanhaiya Lal murder case.
The movie, slated to be released worldwide this Friday, revolves around the brutal murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, in June 2022, by Mohammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Mohammad by slitting his throat.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi told advocate Pyoli, appearing on behalf of Mohammed Javed, an accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, to mention the writ petition seeking a stay on the release of the film before a regular bench after the apex court reopens on July 14.
When the counsel highlighted that the movie will be released in theatres in the meantime, the Justice Dhulia-led bench remarked, “Let it be released”.
In the interest of justice and to safeguard his fundamental right to a fair trial, accused Javed claimed that the contents of the film may interfere with the ongoing trial proceedings of the Kanhaiya Lal murder case pending before the Special NIA Court.
His writ petition filed before the apex court raised the question as to whether a media-driven portrayal of guilt, in the form of a cinematic release, can be allowed to proceed when it directly impinges upon his right to a free and fair trial, a right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“Releasing such a trailer at this juncture, portraying the accused as guilty and the story as conclusively true, has the potential to seriously prejudice the ongoing proceedings. It compromises the presumption of innocence and risks influencing public opinion in a manner that could affect the fairness of the trial,” claimed the accused’s petition.
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Earlier in the day, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Wednesday apprised the Delhi High Court that the alleged offending portions of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ have been removed.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Daya was hearing a batch of pleas, including a plea filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, the President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, seeking a prohibition on the release of the movie.
In its order, the CJ Upadhyaya-led Bench recorded Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma’s statement that before the film was certified, the CBFC proposed certain cuts, and the producer of the film had implemented them.
Further, the Delhi High Court asked the film’s producer to arrange for a private screening of the movie and the trailer on Wednesday itself for the counsels appearing in the matter.
The Delhi HC will take up the batch of pleas for further hearing on Thursday (July 10). –IANS
